When Kids Can’t Read

 What Teachers Can Do




Everyone Has a Vision
Concerning Literacy
No matter how misguided...
 The Core Beliefs of the Text
Teachers want to help
struggling readers
Struggling students want to
be helped
The right instruction can make
a difference

 Kylene
Beers
“This book is

:
designed to be a
handbook…you
might use the chart
found in figure 3.2.
[p. 28] to help you
assess students’
needs. This chart lists
some behaviors you
might see in your
dependent readers
and then suggests a
focus for instruction
and directs you to
appropriate
chapters” (27).
 Po in ts to C o n sid e r
1.
2.There is no one answer to
understanding why some students
struggle with reading.
3.While there is no single answer,
there are answers.

This is a book about

finding those answers .
Student Reading Problems can be
Grouped into Three Areas:
 First,

Dependent readers might lack the
cognitive abilities to read
independently.


 Without this cognitive confidence,

they might struggle with
comprehension, vocabulary, word
recognition, or fluency and
automaticity.
 Second,
 These readers may have negative attitudes
towards reading. They might claim reading is
boring. They have had so many moments of
failure that they not only dislike like it but
actually believe they’re incapable of doing it.
They are disengaged from the reading process
so that whether or not they have cognitive
abilities to read independently doesn’t matter.


 Their attitudes towards reading keep

them distanced from reading.
 Third,
 Dependent readers don’t know what kinds of
books they might enjoy. Our suggestions to
“find a good book” aren’t helpful because they
don’t know what writers or genres they’re
interested in.


 These students tend to read their textbooks

the same as they would literature because they
aren’t drawn in by the text. Difficult texts add
to their struggles, with many students lacking
the willpower to complete a book.
 As One Area Improves, The
Others Do Too

When working with students
the areas comingle and create
a ricochet effect— attending to
one issue creates a
momentum that ricochets to
another confidence.

 Assessing Dependent Readers’
Needs
 First we must define what is working and what
isn’t working. Once this determination is made,
we know how instruction should proceed.


 Not being able to read can mean many things

depending on the student’s strengths and
weaknesses.


 Note the list on pages 24-26 for examples of

differing deficiencies in reading.
What Good Readers Do
 Good Readers:
Recognize that the purpose for reading is to get
meaning.
Use a variety of comprehension strategies that
include predicting, summarizing, questioning
and visualizing the text.
Make a range of inferences about the text, from
making their own examples too figuring out
the meaning of a word based on the context
in which it is used.
Monitor their own understanding of a text.
 Good Readers also:
Question the author’s purpose and point of
view.
Are aware of text features (headings, graphs,
italicized terms, etc.) and use those features
to aid in comprehension.
Evaluate their engagement and enjoyment with
a text.
Know the meaning of many words and can use
context clues to determine meaning if they
are confused.
Recognize most words automatically, read
fluently, vary their reading rate to match the
purpose and level of difficulty, and hear the
Beers’ Personal Beliefs on Teaching
Reading to Struggling Students
Students can be taught a wide range of
comprehension strategies so that these
strategies influence how they make meaning
from a text.
There are multiple ways to help students
improve their comprehending abilities. Some
are explicit; others less so. Teachers must
adapt based on student needs.
Contrary to popular belief, some students do
benefit from direct, explicit instruction in
comprehension strategies.
Some students need and benefit from
vocabulary study.
Personal Beliefs continued…
 Some readers struggle through a text because they lack
fluent word recognition. Strong word recognition skills
are a major component of comprehending a text;
however, they alone don’t ensure comprehension.
Reading is a means of obtaining meaning, and
meaning doesn’t exist without understanding the
words.
 Teachers who encourage and implement a wide range of
reading strategies increase student opportunity for
developing a positive attitude towards reading,
improving fluency, improving vocabulary, and
improving comprehension.
 Reading is a social process, an interactive activity, one
in which readers create meaning through interactions
between the text, their prior knowledge, the context,
and other readers.
 Beers’ Beliefs on Teaching
Reading
Teachers, not programs, are
the critical element in a
student’s success.
The goal of reading is
comprehension.
Comprehension is a complex,
abstract activity.


Explicit Instruction in
Comprehension
 Teaching Comprehension

Though we spend much time
testing comprehension, we spend
little time teaching it.


 We sometimes confuse
explaining to students what is
happening in a text with teaching
students how to comprehend
texts.
 Explicit and direct instruction
strategies include the following
practices:
Decide on strategies to model and text to use.
Tell students what strategy you’ll be practicing
while reading the passage.
Then, read the passage to students, modeling
the strategy or strategies you are using. (Ex.
Think-aloud)
Next, during real reading situations, give
students multiple chances to practice what
you demonstrated.
Continue modeling as students’ needs indicate
or when the genre changes.
Finally, give students opportunities to try the
strategies without your feedback or support.
 Learning to Make an Inference
 Inference – The ability to connect what is in
the text with what is in the mind to create an
educated guess.


 Instead of vaguely asking students to make an

inference, we can provide specific types of
inferences for students to work with.
 Examples of Inferences
Look for pronouns and figure out what
to connect them to.
Figure out explanations for these
events.
Think about setting and see what
details you can add.
After you read this, see if you can
explain why the character acted this
way.
 Test Your Skills
 I cnduo't bvleiee taht I culod aulaclty
uesdtannrd waht I was rdnaieg. Unisg the
icndeblire pweor of the hmuan mnid,
aocdcrnig to rseecrah at Cmabrigde
Uinervtisy, it dseno't mttaer in waht oderr
the lterets in a wrod are, the olny irpoamtnt
tihng is taht the frsit and lsat ltteer be in the
rhgit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses
and you can sitll raed it whoutit a pboerlm.
Tihs is bucseae the huamn mnid deos not
raed ervey ltteer by istlef, but the wrod as a
wlohe. Aaznmig, huh? Yaeh and I awlyas
tghhuot slelinpg was ipmorantt!
Handout and Activity Time!

That’s right. There’s more!

Josie, in an Alternate Universe
 Strategies and Batons
I. Collaborative Annotation
 Targeted Reading Skills:
– Recognize the features of different literary
genres
– Make inferences and draw conclusions based
on explicit and implied information


 This strategy uses other students to model

key components of the reading process which
enhances interpretation and comprehension
skills.


I. Collaborative Annotation
 What is it?
 - Used with poems or prose passages
 - Students complete individual annotations
 - Groups of 3-5, students pass their
annotated copy to person on right
 - Each person adds their own commentary
 - Process continues until readers have their
original papers back



Overstream Example
 A New Strategy
I. Collaborative Annotation
What does it look like?

Frost
I. Collaborative Annotation
How can I differentiate it?
 - Short story: Group members identifies a
literary element (setting, conflict, climax)
 - Divide text into segments for each group;
Groups share with others in “jigsaw”
 - Students annotate by literature circle
roles (summarizer, word finder, illustrator, etc.)
II. Questions Only
 Targeted Reading Skills:
 - Formulate questions to be answered by
reading text
 - Recognize effects of one’s own point of
view in interpreting texts
 - Identify multiple levels of meanings


 The strategy teaches students to ask

insightful questions which will generate
reflection and aid in discussion and/or writing.
II. Questions Only
What is it?
 - Can be used with fiction, non-fiction texts
 - Choose an area for students to focus …
(example: questions could target content,
literary elements, author’s intent, etc.)
 - Students individually annotate text with
“questions only”
 - Questions are answered in class
II. Questions Only
What does it look like?
Piercy
II. Questions Only
How can I differentiate it?
 - Distribute random questions to groups to
answer and give their rationale
 - Compile list of questions and let students
select 3 – 4 to answer for homework; quiz
 - Use list of questions as writing prompts
 - Students choose a question to answer for
a writing assignment
Source:
Greece Central School District
 P.O. Box 300
 North Greece, NY 14515
 (585) 966-2000


 www.greece.k12.ny.us
Wait…there’s more!
 Vocabulary
Password
An innovative vocabulary
assessment game for students of
all ages
Presented By: Bianca Roberts
Beers Group
Introduction to
Vocabulary Password
Vocabulary Password is an innovative game
that allows teachers to assess students’
mastery of vocabulary while kids have a
blast.
If you are familiar with GSN’s $100 K Pyramid,
then, you can play VP!
VP can be used in any content area and/or with
any kind of text.
VP is fun, easy to set up and effective!


 How to get started
Before you can play the game, teachers should
select vocabulary terms that the students
should know for a particular lesson
Students should be familiar with the words,
their meanings and the context in which they
should be used.
It’s probably best for VP to be played at the
end of a unit.


Teachers will create a PowerPoint presentation
that includes all of the words/phrases that
you want to assess. Each word should be on a
separate slide.
You will take volunteers to come forward one at
a time as contestants. The student will face
the audience as the slideshow is reflected
behind them.
The teacher then reveals the word and the
students in the audience have ten seconds to
get the contestant to say the word using any
clues to describe the word without using the
word itself or any parts of it.
 Trial
I hope you were attentive to Lindsay’s portion
of the presentation…
It’s YOUR turn!!
The best way to teach is by modeling!
May I have the first volunteer?
Let’s Play…

c a b u l a r
Vo
y
WORD STUDY
CONTEXT CLUE
VOCABULARY
TREE
AUTOMATICITY
GRAPHEME
FLUENCY
DECODING
WORD WALL
SPELLING
PATTERNS
 Vocabulary
Password
An innovative vocabulary
assessment game for students of
all ages
Presented By: Bianca Roberts
Beers Group
Introduction to
Vocabulary Password
Vocabulary Password is an innovative game
that allows teachers to assess students’
mastery of vocabulary while kids have a
blast.
If you are familiar with GSN’s $100 K Pyramid,
then, you can play VP!
VP can be used in any content area and/or with
any kind of text.
VP is fun, easy to set up and effective!


 How to get started
Before you can play the game, teachers should
select vocabulary terms that the students
should know for a particular lesson
Students should be familiar with the words,
their meanings and the context in which they
should be used.
It’s probably best for VP to be played at the
end of a unit.
Teachers will create a PowerPoint presentation
that includes all of the words/phrases that
you want to assess. Each word should be on a
separate slide.
You will take volunteers to come forward one at
a time as contestants. The student will face
the audience as the slideshow is reflected
behind them.
The teacher then reveals the word and the
students in the audience have ten seconds to
get the contestant to say the word using any
clues to describe the word without using the
word itself or any parts of it.
 Trial
I hope you were attentive to Lindsay’s portion
of the presentation…
It’s YOUR turn!!
The best way to teach is by modeling!
May I have the first volunteer?
Let’s Play…

c a b u l a r
Vo
y
WORD STUDY
CONTEXT CLUE
VOCABULARY
TREE
AUTOMATICITY
GRAPHEME
FLUENCY
DECODING
WORD WALL
SPELLING
PATTERNS
NOW, TAKE THIS STRATEGY,
USE IT IN YOUR CLASSROOM
AND WATCH YOUR
STUDENTS SHOW HOW
MUCH THEY KNOW